The Super Eagles are currently going through a crisis involving four goalkeepers in the Nigerian national team, thereby making it imperative and expedient that handlers of the squad find a solution very quickly.
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Happy was I when I saw that four high-profile international friendlies have already been arranged for the team in the months of May and June … but I was saddened when I suddenly remembered that we don’t have a good keeper to man our goalmouth.
Yes, the Eagles will face India and Jamaica at the 2026 Unity Cup in May, then tango Poland and Portugal in June – all of which are top-grade games by all standards.
Unarguably, we have great players to count on in attack and midfield, which means we can expect goals against our opponents. We also have a defence to count on, though the left-back slot still appears shaky without Bruno Onyemaechi, but that’s not a huge problem to rack your brain over.
Neither is the shaky nature of our midfield without Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi a major problem to produce migraine. We still have a plethora of lads to give up to 60% of what Ndidi offers, though they all have to step up (referring to Raphael Obyedika, Frank Onyeka, Alhassan Yusuf et al).
On the other hand, the Eagles’ archilles’ heel has suddenly become the team’s shot-stopper’s spot. So sad I am that we have not been able to find a stable goalie in the garb of Vincent Enyeama, who was so good he even became assistant captain of our team (just like Peter Rufai and Aloy Agu before him).
So alarming is the present situation, to the extent that the lad we have been counting on as our safest hands in goal, Stanley Nwabali, is currently clubless. That goes to confirm that he is not truly worth all the hoopla about his so called dexterity in goal.
Though he pulled off some key saves against Morocco and Egypt at the past Africa Cup of Nations, Nwabali did not win my heart. I’ve always seen him as clumsy, heavy, clownish, and stiff. How could that type of goalie be Nigeria’s number one?
That question, though, reminds me of a common parlance in our communities – in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. So sorry to use those words, but when Francis Odinaka Uzoho failed to stop Jordan’s free-kick from distance during Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at the four-nation competition in Antalya, Turkey, I could not help but declare: “Since he has not improved, that means he is finished!”
Pardon me for being so curt, but since a similar ball like the one that beat him against Tunisia at AFCON 2019 beat him yet again in 2026, it simply means Uzoho’s days in the Eagles should be over!
Someone said Maduka Okoye would have done better, but I beg to disagree. How would I stick out my neck for a keeper who also allowed a low shot from distance slip under his arms into the net during a crucial World Cup qualifier at home? That happened in 2022, but recent issues show that our keepers appear to be stagnant instead of progressive.
Yes, truth be told, our present set of keepers are not improving, yet they are full of themselves; hence the same old sordid story keeps recurring about Nigeria’s shaky net minders. It keeps bringing its ugly head up like a bad coin and ringing a noisy din like a broken record.
More alarmingly, apart from failing to (see and) stop long-distance shots, we have returned to the days of injuries knocking our goalkeepers out one after the other, leaving us with stragglers to count on. I remember years back keepers from the domestic league and those from abroad kept bowing out with injuries one after the other, and someone said, “There’s the hand of a snake in this matter…”
The days of injured keepers are back. First out with (fake or real) injury in training was Okoye, then Uzoho bowed out (fake or real) in the thick of action against Jordan, and we had to go for our third choice option, Adebayo Adeleye, who equally failed to make the most of a rare opportunity to show that he is best of the lot (as Biodun Baruwa and Ikechukwu Ezenwa did several years ago when all their rivals got injured).
Interestingly, as Adeleye jumped high to make a save before his ill-timed rush off his goal line that led to Jordan’s equalizer, I asked someone next to me, “What happens if we need a third keeper, as it happened to Uganda at the AFCON?” It would have meant an outfield player going into the post and the Super Eagles would simply remember their days of playing ‘set’ on the streets and you ‘pick God to guide your post’ when a keeper is not available.
As jocular as this may sound, it simply highlights the essence of the goalkeepers’ crisis facing our Super Eagles at this point in time … and a drastic solution is needed expediently, before we go to London for Unity Cup 2026.
For me, the solution to this crisis is Wrexham of Wales shot-stopper, Arthur Okonkwo. As young as he is, he has lots of experience from previously training at Arsenal and featuring in some senior games for them. Currently, he is number one at a club gunning for promotion to the English Premier League. So, ‘King Arthur’ is the solution to the Super Eagles’ goalkeepers’ crisis.
There are many good stats and data that make Okonkwo a better choice than someone without a club, one who is jittery, another facing match fixing controversy, one who appears to have poor eyesight and others who get injured when it’s time for them to take up responsibilities in goal.
With so many minuses reeling against all the other goalkeepers on the Super Eagles’ cards, I declare: It’s time for egg heads of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to finalise Arthur Okonkwo’s switch in nationality … so that he can be available for us ASAP.
